The Algorithm People supplement by Motor Transport

Sharp ■ Informed ■ Challenging

September 2021

DETAILED INSIDE:

■ CEO INTERVIEW

■ PRODUCT OVERVIEW ■ USER CASE STUDIES ■ PARTNER PROFILES

DRIVING THE CHANGE IN TRANSPORT EFFICIENCY

DRAG N’ DROPTIMISE

™

Drag, drop and optimise Save time and money with My Transport Planner, the pay-as-you-go route optimisation platform.

Find out more at: www.mytransportplanner.com

reduce planning time • reduce total mileage • cut costs • increase productivity • reduce emissions

THE ALGORITHM PEOPLE

CONTENTS

Thinking differently Colin Ferguson explains how The Algorithm People is pushing the bounds and is at the forefront of logistics innovation

Future logistics today The Algorithm People’s optimisation tools make fleets more efficient, saving money and making assets more productive

Dinner time Gateshead Council’s school meal delivery scheme runs efficiently thanks to route optimisation platform My Transport Planner

Micro managing if.Vehicles is working with The Algorithm People to provide an innovative solution for final-mile operators

Going for zero Fleet analysis by The Algorithm People is helping Yorkshire Water make data-based decisions on how to decarbonise its fleet

The referrer Temperature controlled van manufacturer CoolKit is optimising clients’ productivity using My Transport Planner

The reseller Fuel card and asset tracking supplier Fleetmaxx Solutions is reselling the benefits of My Transport Planner

The integrator Electric van charging points installer Elmtronics is working with The Algorithm People to develop its Hubsta Fleet software The Core, Newcastle Helix, Bath Lane, Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 5TF Email: contact@thealgorithmpeople.co.uk www.thealgorithmpeople.co.uk

Chief executive officer Managing director Sales director Director of partners and corporate accounts Product development director Technical director

Colin Ferguson Sarah Ferguson Robert Goldwater Natalie Hughes Andrew Tillman Mark Whelan

Welcome W

elcome to our latest transport technology supplement in association with The Algorithm People. Driving efficiency improvements through Andy Salter MD, DVV Media optimisation of vehicle and driver International operations is a big opportunity for many freight and logistics providers and this special supplement puts the focus on a company that has made this its core competence. While the company is a relative industry newcomer, the people behind the brand are experts in using powerful computer algorithms to optimise transport systems, thereby contributing to the decarbonisation agenda – arguably the transport industry’s biggest future challenge. More immediately, The Algorithm People has secured significant development funding from a high-profile team of tech investors keen to support the company’s national and international growth ambitions. In our interview with The Algorithm People CEO, Colin Ferguson, you’ll learn how that strategy is set to unfold. Elsewhere, we review the company’s product portfolio and strategy, explore how three users are already driving efficiency improvements and speak to a number of The Algorithm People’s market partners to see how their service is enhanced through collaboration with the company.

Supplement editor Contributors Production editor

Andy Salter Louise Cole, Chris Tindall, Colin Barnett Clare Goldie

Design

Gareth Burgess

MOTOR TRANSPORT / THE ALGORITHM PEOPLE 3

THE ALGORITHM PEOPLE

Thinking differently The Algorithm People is at the forefront of logistics innovation. Colin Ferguson explains to Louise Cole how the company is pushing the bounds

olin Ferguson is a rarity in the road transport world: someone who couples operational experience with advanced transport technology expertise. Add in his knowledge of alternative drivelines and it’s not surprising he is attracting the interest of some heavyweight investors to drive the growth plan. Ferguson is CEO and co-founder of The Algorithm People (TAP), a fleet optimisation company that is pushing the bounds of what we can do with traditional optimisation, while also innovating to solve some of logistics’ most intractable issues. Ferguson says the company works across three pillars: optimisation; innovation; and decarbonisation. Optimisation is essentially simple, he says. “It’s about more for less. The algorithms we use will compute the best match of jobs, assets and routes to give the most efficient result. This means fewer miles, less fuel, and fewer vehicles for the same work, or more work completed with the same vehicles and mileage.” Although the benefits of optimisation are substantial and well documented, research suggests fewer than 10% of fleets are using optimisation tools. Ferguson says this means most of the market is missing out on significant cost-savings. TAP’s primary product, My Transport Planner, won the Great British Fleet Event Innovation in Cost Reduction award last year. Unlike traditional 4 MOTOR TRANSPORT / THE ALGORITHM PEOPLE

SAVE, SAVE: Savings will outstrip spend, says Colin Ferguson

optimisation tools, My Transport Planner is applicable to the whole road transport sector, rather than solely to milk-run operators or cashrich fleets. As well as sequencing, it can optimise on the fly, producing iterative versions of a route in real-time. And, crucially it’s available on a no-risk, no-contract basis as well as software as a service. No installation, no lengthy consultancy, no brutal tie-in periods. “It’s designed for instant payback,” says Ferguson. “The savings will always outstrip what you spend.” Optimisation tools can hold all the necessary information about drivers’ hours, routes and local info, but are free of subjective judgements, of learned behaviours, and of specific types of

TAP is also developing the next generation of optimisation algorithms alongside academics from Teesside University. These concern machine learning; data from each planned route is compared with actual runs, making future planning more precise. This enables marginal, but continual, improvements. Finally, it is working on artificial intelligence, which will examine the data learned, and discern between what is useful (precise journey times) and the anomalous (delays because of collision).

Decarbonisation

thinking. They can also compute much faster than any human, reducing planning time from hours to minutes. Ferguson challenges the industry to think differently. He cites grid-based or area planning as a classic example. Many hub sorting operations allocate deliveries strictly by postcode – however, given 20 minutes to optimise the consignments, the entire network could benefit, with deliveries allocated to the most appropriate vehicle, regardless of postcode. “If, instead of hard dividing lines, we think of geographical areas as intersecting circles, the efficiencies exist in the areas of overlap,” he says.

Innovation TAP’s innovation is multifaceted. TAP is a specialist in identifying the correct place and application for electric vehicles within a mixed fleet to ensure maximum efficiencies and the fastest return on investment. It can even optimise charging so that it occurs during natural breaks, and draws only as much juice as needed, which protects battery life.

The transition from diesel to electric or, in time, hydrogen, is not optional. Operators’ only choice is whether to use the tools available to ensure a successful transition. Ferguson says: “We are fast approaching a time where operators will not even get the sophistication and gains they need from traditional optimisation. They will have to jump with both feet into smart optimisation because the complexity of the issues facing them will demand it.” The path to decarbonisation can start today, he says. “Optimise first, then plan your transition to electric vehicles through evidenced-based analysis. You can start to reduce fossil fuel usage with My Transport Planner almost instantly with this approach.” 

THE FUTURE TAP has recently secured $2.2m (£1.6m) of business angel funding from a consortium that includes high-profile tech investors. It expects tripledigit growth in the UK, and to expand internationally, through its partner relationships. Partnerships exist on three levels: referral, resellers – which rebadge My Transport Planner as their own – and integration specialists, which incorporate the technology platform into their own product. “We believe this structure gives us the best market penetration, but also offers end-users the maximum choice in terms of deployment. They can choose stand-alone optimisation, a bespoke solution, or to access the functionality through the platform provided by an existing supplier.” This flexibility is important to TAP’s ethos and strategy. “The challenges facing CV operation are increasingly complex and numerous, from air pollution, re-imagined city spaces, vulnerable road users, a lack of logistics land, new drivelines and a driver shortage, to name but a few,” says Ferguson. “To solve these issues we need to think differently and creatively. We’re bringing the best of consumer flexibility to transport in terms of access and pricing, and imaginative solutions and the computational power to make them a reality. Our product is adaptability in a box, allowing operators to reconfigure mobile or static assets in new ways to give efficiencies and solutions they could not have imagined, let alone, achieved before.”

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THE ALGORITHM PEOPLE

Future I logistics today

n simple terms, optimisation is about more for less. More collections, deliveries or service stops, with less mileage. Less mileage translates into less fuel, less insurance exposure, and less capital outlay, and more profit. But it can also be defined as more productivity from the same cost and asset base. The Algorithm People’s (TAP) lead product offering is My Transport Planner, a highly intuitive, simple-to-use optimisation platform giving traffic planners huge flexibility to set rules and parameters for jobs or vehicles. Behind this sits the database that holds the information about jobs, assets, and drivers. And at the heart of the product are the algorithms that allow it to crunch the numbers in super-fast time and produce the most efficient route, and/or allocation of task to resource, the task being a delivery, collection, appointment or other fleet function.

The Algorithm People’s optimisation tools make fleets more efficient, saving money and making assets more productive, reports Louise Cole 6 MOTOR TRANSPORT / THE ALGORITHM PEOPLE

Moving on Traditional optimisation required predictable work patterns, endless consultation, installation and lengthy expensive contracts. Not so with My Transport

Planner. Most of the consultation and implementation that would be required by traditional fleet products is instead handled online, in swift, easy steps, by the fleet transport department. The platform allows planners to set their own rules for how the product will work for them, without having to worry about the complex computation behind the scenes.

Pay as you go The most immediate way to try My Transport Planner is to use the online product for 99p/vehicle/ day. Simply register, buy as many vehicle credits as you want, and import your assets and jobs with the provided templates. Your planning will then take minutes, as you drag and drop the jobs onto the map and optimise. TAP says the savings per vehicle will always be more than the 99p product cost. TAP CEO Colin Ferguson says: “If customers are simply sequencing fixed routes, then you get a 5% to 10% improvement. If you are using the full optimisation capability, with variable routes and loads, then savings are between 10% and 30%.We would challenge every fleet to try it, whatever application they have. It’s designed to be financially risk-free.” My Transport Planner works with all kinds of fleets, including hire and reward, regional collections and deliveries, or service and engineering operations. It also works with electric or petrol/ diesel vehicles, or in a mixed fleet. It takes into account payload and necessary ancillary equipment for all vehicles, but can also factor in range and charging for electric vehicles. In many ways My Transport Planner (and by extension My Transport Planner Pro, below) is the most flexible and versatile of all the products because fleets can easily extend it to subcontractor or hire vehicles.

ON PLAN: My Transport Planner is a simple-touse optimisation platform

Even then customers can choose how much of the fleet, or which applications or contracts, they wish to buy credits for, so flexibility is a given. My Transport Planner Pro is also available on a fixed-term contract. This has greater functionality, such as navigation and mobile apps. It is slightly more expensive than My Transport Planner, for a 12-month SaaS arrangement, but the price comes down incrementally with longer terms.

Enterprise level

FLEXIBLE: TAP offers bespoke solutions for complex operations

Using My Transport Planner or My Transport Planner Pro on a fixed contract is just the start of a journey towards greater efficiency for many operations. TAP also offers consultancy and bespoke solutions for more complex operations. One such scenario is where operators are considering electrifying a portion of their fleet. TAP can analyse all the fleet’s movements and identify which assets could be swapped for electric vehicles, considering range, payloads and an optimal return on investment. ➜8

Software as a service Fleets that are convinced by the business case of My Transport Planner can choose a SaaS – software as a service – contract, as this brings the price per vehicle even lower. Remember, even on a fixedterm contract there is no need for time-consuming installation with this product – you access it quickly and easily whenever you need to from day one. There are flexible payment options, so customers can choose the contract length. For instance, the price per vehicle drops to 89p a vehicle credit for a 12-month term and to 49p for 60 months. MOTOR TRANSPORT / THE ALGORITHM PEOPLE 7

THE ALGORITHM PEOPLE

It isn’t only electric vehicle journeys that can be optimised but charging too. For instance, the optimal charging pattern is opportunistic and gives the vehicle just enough juice to discharge the tasks ahead of it. Operationally this means that the asset can be sweated much more effectively, making use of natural breaks. However, it also maximises battery life, and could potentially offer ongoing proof of battery optimisation, which could lower lease payments or improve residual values.

Less

Productivity Deliveries Satisfied customers Service calls or appointments Profit per asset Profit per journey

Fuel Mileage Emissions Assets or drivers required Insurance exposure Cost, including wear and tear/ vehicle repairs

take advantage of, such as charging facilities or rest stops. There are more subtle issues affecting the industry, however, which require great agility on the part of fleet managers. For instance, European hauliers are reportedly choosing not to enter the M25 to visit consolidation centres and are handing off goods closer to their inbound port. The driver shortage means fleets may have to recalculate routes designed for 18-tonners, for which they have too few drivers, in favour of 3.5-tonners, which can be driven on a non-vocational licence. The lack of land for logistics in certain parts of the country is expensive and problematic, as are regional spikes in volume that can leave operators and networks without sufficient local resource. All of these are examples of topical, evolving and yet frequently unpredictable issues fleets have to contend with, and, without the aid of optimisation software, affected jobs can turn from profitable to loss-making fast. TAP is working on innovative solutions for the industry that can address such issues.

Developer mode Many fleets have more complex needs, operations or specific software that they want to combine with the power of optimisation. These clients can integrate TAP’s technology into their existing transport management system or choose to customise certain aspects such as mobile apps to deliver customer specific requirements. TAP has a team of experienced software developers to assist with this process. This can bring all the functionality into a single platform, which, with a fleet’s planners that are already familiar, can be configured to meet the fleet’s specific needs and challenges.

Logistics challenges of tomorrow Decarbonisation is only one of the challenges facing logistics and operators. Movable feast regulations, which differ from city to city – such as clean air zones, ULEZs, direct vision, congestion charges and low traffic neighbourhoods, which can pop up overnight in urban areas to allow for more walking and cycling space – are an ongoing nightmare for transport planners. The answer to this lies in the quality of the frontend mapping that is used alongside TAP products. The maps can be adapted to include obstacles fleets need to avoid, whether charging zones, low bridges or control schemes; or assets they wish to

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Mobile and Transient Hubs project MAPPED OUT: Maps can be adapted to include obstacles fleets need to avoid, such as charging zones and low bridges

Logistics has long been wedded to the idea of fixed premises such as regional DCs, hubs, sorting centres or warehouses. However, TAP is developing an innovative solution that would reduce the pressure for urban land, cut mileage and facilitate

the use of smaller electric vehicles in urban spaces, all without a loss of efficiency. The Mobile and Transient Hubs project (MATHs) is seeking to develop new technology to co-ordinate mobile hubs – ie HGVs, trailers or containers that can be moved to the right locations to cross-dock parcels or delivery items with electric vans. The vans can deliver in zones, and relocate to the mobile hub dynamically, allowing them to reload without adding mileage or losing time in returning to the depot.

Dynamic interaction Most optimisation solutions can’t handle the dynamic interaction of mobile assets in this way. The market has always focused on moving vehicles between fixed locations. However, Ferguson believes this could be a game-changer for urban logistics. “Rather than having to compete for expensive land on the periphery of urban areas, which limits operational efficiencies, operators could respond to regional spikes in volume, or achieve greater density in urban deliveries by moving their hub vehicle around the outskirts of the city, expanding the number of local deliveries each van could make without a return to depot. Rather than running the vans back to base, the hub vehicle is swapped out for another full trailer-load.” Ferguson says the cost savings of the MATHs scheme could be significant, as well as improving air quality and potentially removing the difficulties of competing for kerb space with large delivery vehicles. The use of optimisation technology is potentially endless because fleets’ routes can be optimised to prioritise any parameters an operator chooses.

One potential application for the optimisation software is to lower collision risk, by routeing vehicles away from collision hotspots or problematic junctions at key times of day. This could be of particular use if fleets wish to avoid left turns across cycle lanes during rush hours, or other scenarios that are statistically concerning for insurers. As with decarbonisation, My Transport Planner allows fleets to optimise their use of assets. For those with sufficient resource, this means they can expand the business they can handle with the same number for vehicles. However, for much of the hire and reward sector, or the pallet networks that have seen unmanageable volumes in 2021, optimisation allows fleets to instantly mitigate their driver deficit, getting more deliveries from each vehicle without compromising driver hours.

Human versus machine Humans are designed to make intuitive and informed decisions, says Ferguson, and in much of life this serves us well. However, an algorithm has no such conditioning and so will sometimes make decisions that are far more efficient but counter-intuitive from a human perspective. For instance: 100 pallets need to be delivered within a given region; 80 of these cluster neatly into four quarters of the region but 20 are geographic outliers. A transport planner may logically load 20 pallets each into four vehicles and despatch them in their compass directions, while the outlying 20 go on a separate vehicle. However, My Transport Planner might add five of the outliers each onto the four original vehicles. Each vehicle will do a greater mileage at some point in its journey to deliver the five problematic pallets, but all 100 will be delivered by just four vehicles, and probably have a lower overall mileage than if five vehicles had been despatched. Same work is completed but saving a vehicle, driver and fuel. “There will always be a role for the expertise of the transport planner, handling customers, drivers and problem-solving,” says Ferguson. “However, this kind of computation can be done quickly and much more efficiently by software. No one chooses to keep their company books manually instead of accounting software today, yet every firm still values the expertise of its accountants and financial directors. We need to make the same leap with transport planning.”  MOTOR TRANSPORT / THE ALGORITHM PEOPLE 9

THE ALGORITHM PEOPLE

OPERATOR FACT FILE Name: Gateshead Council Vehicles: Eight transit vans used for its city-wide Cook n’ Eat scheme Reliance on My Transport Planner: Since Easter 2021

Photos: Sira Studio

Dinner time

Case study: Gateshead Council

Operators and users throughout the UK are seeing the benefits of working with The Algorithm People. Chris Tindall investigates

10 MOTOR TRANSPORT / THE ALGORITHM PEOPLE

BENEFITS PROVIDED BY THE ALGORITHM PEOPLE Food boxes for families whose children are eligible for free school meals are now delivered in half the time, significantly optimising council staff working hours and cutting fuel consumption and costs, as well as emissions – which supports its long-term plans on climate change.

eligible for free school meals with a food box to make a week’s worth of family meals. The scheme draws on resources from across the council and uses the logistics fleet operated by the environmental services department. Using eight vans and relying on hundreds of postcodes, staff delivered the food boxes – but the process was time-consuming and inefficient, with only 30 or 40 deliveries per vehicle achieved each day. However, when The Algorithm People offered its My Transport Planner planning tool to the council with no contractual commitment, it revolutionised the process and significantly cut down on the time taken for route scheduling and delivery. Gateshead Council poverty lead Michael Walker says: “Without The Algorithm People and its offer to plan the routes, we couldn’t be sure how long it would take us to make our deliveries. “We were aware we weren’t doing it in the most efficient way as it took us days just to work out the routes. We wanted to finish in the fifth week of the summer holidays, but we overran and ended in the sixth. Drivers were working from 9am to 6pm. It was very difficult.”

Data drop

he Algorithm People has transformed Gateshead Council’s school holiday meals scheme from a “logistical nightmare” into a smooth, efficient operation thanks to its route optimisation platform.

On holiday The council ran its Cook n’ Eat initiative as part of its holidays and activities programme during last year’s summer holidays to provide 1,700 families

ON ROUTE: Data drops into My Transport Planner cut costs and saved drivers’ time

But all that changed the following Easter when Cook n’ Eat was rolled out again and The Algorithm People fed the data into My Transport Planner. Walker says: “The next time the programme came around, once we knew how many families we had, we did a data drop with all the addresses and postcodes and within minutes we had our routes planned. “Not only that, but because we knew where the routes were, we could allow a certain amount of time for the food drops, so we knew we could do up to 90 per vehicle per day with the new system. “It massively cut down what we were doing and optimised everything.” Money was also saved on fuel and because the routeing was so efficient, council staff often completed their deliveries in half a day and could then return to their normal work activities. “I can’t put into words how much easier it has become for our guys,” adds Walker. “The Algorithm People said it wanted to help and it appreciated what we were doing for the people of Gateshead. “I can’t praise it highly enough.”  MOTOR TRANSPORT / THE ALGORITHM PEOPLE 11

THE ALGORITHM PEOPLE

Micro managing Case study: if.Vehicles

if.Vehicles MD Andrew Hodgson says: “We saw that vans weren’t up to the job of moving modern goods, like a USB stick or small packages. It’s one van driven around all day just to move 100kg of goods. There’s so much waste of space and redundant energy. We need a solution that works with vans and increases capacity and reduces inefficiency. We worked with TAP because coming up with a good idea is one thing, but if it’s not used in the right way it’s pointless.”

Fleet efficiencies

By Chris Tindall he developer of the world’s only dismountable and transformable zero-emission vehicle platform is working with The Algorithm People (TAP) to provide an innovative solution for final-mile operators. The partnership between if.Vehicles and TAP started with a conversation and then a realisation that both companies were offering two halves of a transport solution that could revolutionise parcel deliveries. The two companies have signed a partnership agreement to work together to cut costs and carbon emissions from last-mile logistics. if.Vehicles has produced a purpose-built vehicle to facilitate seamless multi-modal deliveries. Called the if.Micro, the light quadricycle can be driven on the roads or transformed into a power-assisted trolley that can be operated on pavements. The solution overhauls current thinking about moving goods around, turning delivery vans into mobile hubs that meet the smaller if.Micros and transfers parcels to them before they commence deliveries – often penetrating areas no other final-mile operator can, for example in pedestrianised areas. The van then returns to base and restocks, stripping out emissions from that last leg. 12 MOTOR TRANSPORT / THE ALGORITHM PEOPLE

TAP’s pay-as-you-go, web-based transport planning tool My Transport Planner is basically the instruction booklet that enables users of the if.Micro to operate them in a way that helps them to obtain the considerable route efficiencies and savings. “Our early trials indicated that our vehicles – combined with TAP’s software – have the potential to increase fleet efficiencies to such an extent that one van [acting as a mobile hub] supplying four if.Micros, can deliver the same daily quantities as seven standard vans,” says Hodgson. “We want to make the final mile as sustainable as possible and if we can also make if efficient then that’s even more beneficial.” The pay-as-you-go element of My Transport Planner adds to the attraction, particularly for smaller operators where one day they are juggling hundreds of deliveries and the next they are quieter. “Micro-mobility is the way forward,” adds Hodgson. “Covid has accelerated e-commerce by five or six years and people are aware of the failings of current delivery methods. The market is open to innovation.” 

OPERATOR FACT FILE Name: if.Vehicles Location: Newcastle Vehicles: if.Micro. In development mode. To be displayed at Freight in the City September 2021. Entering production in 2022

BENEFITS FROM THE ALGORITHM PEOPLE The partnership enables if.Vehicles to offer customers the complete package for last-mile deliveries that not only reduces emissions but also increases capacity of the fleet using innovative, battery-powered micro vehicles and software to optimise their use.

OPERATOR FACT FILE Name: Yorkshire Water Vehicles: 1,400 vans, plus HGVs Target: Net zero by 2030

Going for zero

Case study: Yorkshire Water

By Chris Tindall leet analysis by The Algorithm People (TAP) is helping Yorkshire Water make data-based decisions on its strategy to decarbonise its fleet. The utility company is committed to achieve net zero carbon by 2030, which includes electrifying the 1,400 vans in its fleet. The company, which has secured Go Ultra Low fleet accreditation, has made a strong start, investing in Nissan e-NV200 electric vans. It estimates that the vehicles will reduce total fleet emissions by 5% and generate savings over their seven-year life span. Yorkshire Water is developing a 10- year plan to decarbonise its fleet, including introducing electric vehicles and piloting the use of CNG and hydrogen power.

BENEFITS FROM THE ALGORITHM PEOPLE After making significant strides in its plan to become net zero, Yorkshire Water was then provided with clear, evidence-based answers by The Algorithm People about the potential for it to go further and electrify its fleet.

To identify the most appropriate next steps in its strategy, the water company turned to TAP for assistance. Natalie Hughes, director of partners and corporate accounts at TAP, says: “Yorkshire Water is committed to sustainability, as shown by its pledge to reach net zero by 2030 and its use of renewable energy. Our role is to provide analysis to support that vision, by providing the data that can enable clients to make clear, evidence-based decisions on the next steps.” Using its unique electric vehicle toolkit, the company analysed journey data from 100 vans in Yorkshire Water’s fleet. Drivers take the vehicles home after their shifts, so the analysis was based on recharging the electric vehicles overnight. The conclusions surprised everyone: based on the real-world range of electric vans, 88% of all vehicles in the sample were suitable for electrification. Furthermore, 95% of all daily routes could be achieved without the need for a top-up charge. David Hibbs, head of fleet for Yorkshire Water says: “TAP’s analysis gave us exactly what we wanted – clear, evidence-based answers to the question of how much potential there is to electrify our fleet.”

Complete picture The company hasn’t stopped there. It is now engaged in running analysis on other areas of its fleet as well, including HGVs and plant equipment. It has also been reducing carbon emissions since 2014 and in 2019 reported an 80% reduction in operational emissions, compared to 2005. It has made substantial investment in anaerobic digestion technologies to generate renewable energy from sewage sludge that is used to power its operational sites, as well as committing to buying only certified renewable energy. This means that its electric vehicles will deliver the best possible reduction in emissions. “The results gave us food for thought,” adds Hibbs. “There is further work to be done to get the complete picture from our entire fleet, but it is a fantastic start.”  MOTOR TRANSPORT / THE ALGORITHM PEOPLE 13

THE ALGORITHM PEOPLE PARTNER PROGRAMME

Partner netwo r The Algorithm People works with a network of partners to bring its products and services to market – referrers, resellers and integrators. Chris Tindall gets the lowdown from three companies that are part of that network

The referrer

s the largest manufacturer of temperature controlled vans in the UK, CoolKit is constantly looking for ways to optimise the productivity of its customers’ fleets. The Burnley-based company has made significant inroads in developing lightweight, but heavyduty components to maximise payload and it was a logical next step for it to consider how its customers embark on their daily journeys. As a result, CoolKit owner and MD Rupert Gatty says its collaboration with The Algorithm People (TAP) has helped companies find new ways of re-evaluating their daily distribution patterns and create more efficient routes. “Over a period of getting to know our customers, we have introduced My Transport Planner to a number of fleets we deal with and many have found it to be of value.”

Distribution efficiency CoolKit says My Transport Planner benefits any size of fleet, from one-man bands to large temperature-controlled transport businesses. “We present it to customers when they buy something from us and we refer to it in our quotes,” explains Gatty. “As a business expands in complexity you sometimes maintain old ways of doing things without evaluating them; My Transport Planner is intelligent, particularly for cutting journey distances. For example, electric vehicles. Their range is a real concern, so it’s valuable to think about efficiency of distribution.” In addition to the customer and TAP, this referral process benefits CoolKit as well. “Our mission 14 MOTOR TRANSPORT / THE ALGORITHM PEOPLE

SEE YOU: The company’s vision is to see its vehicles on every high street

is to try and make this fairly inefficient world more efficient and productive and My Transport Planner is a great way of doing that,” Gatty says. “My company’s vision is to see our vehicles in operation on every high street. To achieve this we are embarking on a mission of satisfying all our customers’ distribution problems. If we can demonstrate to our customers we are capable of adding value, then that is definitely of value to CoolKit.” 

The reseller Fleetmaxx Solutions is reselling the benefits of My Transport Planner

Fuelcard and asset tracking supplier Fleetmaxx Solutions is benefiting from reselling My Transport Planner to customers who want to keep costs low and optimise the use of their fleet. Its customers are B2B but could be anything from one-man bands to major businesses running in excess of 1,000 vehicles, but they all share the same desire: to get the most that they can out of their assets. By offering The Algorithm People’s My Transport Planner as a fleet solution,

o rk

Electric van charging points installer Elmtronics is working with The Algorithm People to develop its Hubsta Fleet software

The integrator

he Algorithm People’s (TAP) software is helping to build the business case for the adoption of electric vehicles, optimising their deployment and use, as well as the charging infrastructure. Elmtronics, the UK’s largest installer of electric vehicle charging points, is working in partnership with TAP in a project that will incorporate route planning into its existing charge point management back-office software Hubsta. The development, Hubsta Fleet, will support businesses’ fleet transition and decarbonisation. Hubsta gives charge point owners and fleet managers the ability to manage their estate, monitor charge point usage and generate revenue from charge points. Boosted by funding from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles in partnership with Innovate, Hubsta Fleet is being developed to integrate route optimisation and provide a web-based tool to

Fleetmaxx says it fills a gap between its tracking software and the savings available through its fuel cards. Fleetmaxx marketing manager Steve Clarke says: “We were looking for additional service partners that could provide a one-stop-shop for our customers. With My Transport Planner, the main benefit is that our customers can fill up with discounted fuel, they want to see where their vehicles are and plan the best routes for them. This applies to anyone who is driving: from the plumber who is calculating the best order to do his calls, to the courier who wants to know their best routes for the day. My Transport

help operators plan and optimise journeys. Through My Transport Planner, TAP can provide databased analysis of a company’s vehicle operations, enabling it to pinpoint which vehicles and routes are best suited to electrification. The integration will also provide access to valuable data on CO2 and cost savings to support the increased uptake of electric vehicles in a fleet. Elmtronics chief technical officer Anthony Piggott says: “Hubsta is a software solution that helps customers understand how their charge points are being used. The development of a new fleet module was borne out of talks and a realisation that our two products fit perfectly together and are both aimed at helping fleets decarbonise. The end product will provide fleet and facilities managers with a unique one-stop tool, which integrates an electric vehicle charging back-office network with a route planning software solution.”

Planner works nicely for them and it also works well for us trying to help reduce fuel costs.” Even customers who don’t require fuel cards benefit; electric vehicle fleet managers need to plan their vehicles’ journeys meticulously for charging purposes and efficient deliveries. “Customers have been asking for a solution like this,” says Clarke. “They know with the services we provide they can see where their vehicles are and we can direct them to the charge points where they can re-charge for less. With My Transport Planner, it can help show them how to drive the best and the most efficient way and on the most efficient routes.”

MOTOR TRANSPORT / THE ALGORITHM PEOPLE 15

FURTHER INFORMATION If you’d like to find out more about The Algorithm People’s suite of products and services, sign up on our website to join one of our themed autumn webinars:

13 October - Optimisation 8 December – Decarbonisation 9 February – Innovation Motor Transport readers who attend any of the webinars will receive 50 free credits to use the My Transport Planner pay-as-you-go optimisation service

Visit thealgorithmpeople.co.uk/webinars2021

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